Mr. Speaker, should we apply the standards of today, Giant would be shut down this afternoon, it is true that their mode of operation is very antiquated, but they have been very long in operation, that is they started many decades ago. And they were operating to the standards that were set they were made operational. There is some concern that they are a major employer of Yellowknife and whatever we do has to take into account, they have simply set into operation under the guidelines set out by the federal government many years ago and that there an economic implication should we try to be very abrupt and dramatic in making them live up to some new conditions. So we have taken the approach in talking to them about the new regulations regarding sulphur dioxide emissions and they have worked with us to try to find a way to comply with it, without suffering financially, economically, which may have a rather dramatic impact on the economy of Yellowknife. This is the approach we are trying to take. We know that the environmental guidelines and standards that are set for new operations. New mines are dramatically different and we are very much in favour of making sure that all mines live up to very, very high standards environmentally. The companies themselves state that very clearly up front, they ask in turn, that the process that they are subjected to is made simple, is made clear so that they know. As they say, how many hoops they have to jump through, and new hoops are not and hurdles are not introduced in the middle of the process, so we have had some discussions with some mining companies about that and made it very clear that we are very much in favour of doing that but not to suffer the illusion that there will be no conditions, because very clearly, as we state in our mandate, in our vision statement, this department is very clear that the primary important for us is to make sure the land, the wildlife and the water is protected and will be there for future generations and if we can be assured of that then we are very comfortable in entertaining economic development initiatives, such as mining, oil and gas exploration. Thank you.
Stephen Kakfwi on Final Return To Supplementary 540-13(3): Impacts Of Mining On Nearby Residents
In the Legislative Assembly on October 18th, 1996. See this statement in context.
Final Return To Supplementary 540-13(3): Impacts Of Mining On Nearby Residents
Item 6: Oral Questions
October 17th, 1996
Page 1299
See context to find out what was said next.